Saturday, September 3, 2005

Heaven and Earth

I have been out of commission for the last few days and since my last post I can honestly say life has been pretty much upside down. The great inner debate with me seems to be school lately, I guess if I had to pick the most nagging of my inner debates these days. The history program at Idaho State is frustrating to say the least. But... I love history and I love the feeling of contentment when I am learning something new. The way it appears for the moment is that I will be toughing it out in the history dept. with a little help from my friends in the political science dept.

Enough about that.

For the last two days I have been watching a great deal of television-- a great deal of CNN, CSPAN, and MSNBC. I've watched as a natural disaster has torn apart a region as well as an entire nation already deeply divided. Yesterday I watched the Congressional Black Caucus rip apart the reaction of (or lack of reaction of) the Bush administration, Walmart, and Denny Hastert. AND I agreed with them 100%.

President Bush's legacy will not only be reflective of his postive response and his strong leadership on 9/11 and the aftermath that would follow, but also it will be reflective of his negative or delayed response and lack of leadership in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It took the President of the United States several days to step up, tour the torn gulf region, and offer significant federal help. Days longer than it should have.

People were herded into the Superdome, FEMA had no plan of action, and Walmart stores in Lousiana would not accept Salvation Army vouchers. The National Guard is in Iraq. The president is on vacation...AGAIN. And the Speaker of the House says the United States will not rebuild the city of New Orleans. See any problem with this picture?

Today I listened to Michael Chertoff, the new Secretary of HOmeland Security, promise that President BUsh and the federal government would "move heaven and earth" in their efforts to contain, control, reconstruct, and uplift the effected gulf region.

I guess my question is, if one man holds the power to actuall move heaven and earth, what has taken his so long to realize and use it?

5 comments
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Assistance is streaming into hurricane-affected areas as volunteers...We've been watching the coverage of Katrina's aftermath in the affected Gulf states, and we're not ... All across the Web, blogs and Web sites are assisting with the relief and aid mobilization.Hey, you have a great blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!

Sure they've got passion but it is only used to fuel hate. They have such a disdain for Pres. Bush they just see this hurricane as a way to tell their constituents how bad the Pres. is and how Pres. Bush caused the hurricane and hard they'll work to "get to the bottom of this", which in the end will accomplish nothing and will most likely just cause more problems.

"Anyone can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person at the right time, and for the right purpose and in the right way - that is not within everyone's power and that is not easy."~ Aristotle

About Me

I am an independent historian, a native Idahoan, an avid reader, a lifelong fan of baseball, and a Democrat. The Political Game offers progressive perspectives on current events, Idaho history & politics, and the political world President Kennedy once referred to as a "great chess game."